List of disguises
on display in Seattle, Washington, 2014]] The Residents have appeared in a large number of different costumes and disguises since their inception in the early 1970s, far beyond their most recognizable costume of eyeball masks with top hats and tuxedos. This page attempts to list the many different costumes The Residents have used to hide their identities since 1971. Origins (1965-1972) with N. Senada at The Boarding House, 1971]]Prior to meeting the Bavarian avant-garde composer and musical theorist The Mysterious N. Senada in 1970 and adopting his Theory of Obscurity, the group who would later become known as The Residents did not generally bother with disguises, even appearing nude and unmasked in an early photograph. After meeting Senada, they gradually began to incorporate his ideas into their earnest experiments, though as they mostly continued to perform at home, they did not usually require costumes at this point in their career. This began to change with the group's earliest known performance at The Boarding House in 1971, the members of the group wore high school cheerleader outfits, and introduced the heavily disguised N. Senada and the fabulous Miss Peggy Honeydew. Vileness Fats (1972-1976) ]] The Residents, along with their friends N. Senada, Peggy Honeydew, Sally Lewis and the members of The Cryptic Corporation, all appear costumed as various characters in the footage for the unfinished feature film project ''Vileness Fats, shot between 1972 and 1976. Notably, The Residents appear in the nightclub scenes as a masked and suited horn section, backing Senada on saxophone and vocals on the songs "Kamakazi Lady" and "Eloise", as well as Honeydew on "Lord, It's Lonely". short film, showing two costumed Residents on the right and the future Mr. Skull on the left, 1976]] Newspaper costumes (1976-1977) In order to create provocative graphics and a promotional short film to promote the release of The Third Reich 'n Roll in 1976, The Residents created a set, prop instruments, and four costumes out of a hoard of old newspapers which had been left with the group by Palmer Eiland after he left their studio following a nervous breakdown and multiple suicide attemptsCaptain Doc, "The End of Arf" The Third Reich 'n Roll pREServed edition promo video, 2018. Despite the use of Nazi themes in the album's cover and promotional art, the resemblance of these costumes to the hoods and cloaks worn by the Ku Klux Klan was not intended by the group - this simply was the easiest way for them to make headpieces from newspapers. The set from The Third Reich 'n Roll short film, aside from neatly recycling set and costume elements from the then-recently abandoned feature film Vileness Fats, later ended up inspiring the creation of Mr. Skull, a recurring element of the group's eyeball costumes from 1986 onwards. and Snakefinger at the Oh Mummy! show, 1976]] Oh Mummy! performance (1976) For their 1976 one-off performance Oh Mummy! Oh Daddy!, The Residents appeared swathed in bandages, appearing like mummies - an idea which was interesting in theory, but in execution made it difficult for the group to play their instruments. The Residents were supported during this performance by Snakefinger, who played guitar while dressed as a giant artichoke. Tourniquet of Roses photo session (1977) At least one Resident appears shirtless and wearing what appears to be a cow mask in the photo session for the group's planned Tourniquet of Roses album, which would eventually become Fingerprince in 1977. Duck Stab! photo session (1978) Four Interior Decorators of the Apocalypse (1978) Not Available ''photo session (1978?) The Residents appear costumed as the characters from their shelved second album ''Not Available ''in a photo session, most likely dating from around the time of the album's completion and release in 1978. These photos are included in the album art of various reissues of the album (though not on the original pressings). Eyeball masks (1979-present) The group's famous eyeball masks were designed originally for use only on the album cover and promotional material for their 1979 album ''Eskimo, but quickly aided the band's popularity and proved to be an easily recognizable and identifiable image. This resulted in the eyeball masks being used (with numerous variations) for the rest of their career, in 1983 during The Mole Show, in 1986 for their 13th Anniversary Show, in the software design and cover art for their run of CD-ROMs, and most recently occurring on the album art and promotional material for their 2017 album The Ghost of Hope. The Mole Show tour (1983) The Big Bubble (1986-1987) Mr. Skull (1986-present) Cube-E tour (1989-1990) Disfigured Night (1997) Randy, Chuck, Bob, Carlos and Rico (2010-present?) The Ghost of Hope ''performance (2017) "The Real Residents" (2017-present) Rejected and unused costume concepts * One early unused concept for The Residents' visual representation was that they should never be shown walking, and their feet should never be pictured, to encourage the perception that they did not move by walking, but rather by mysterious and unknown means. This idea was short-lived as it would prove to be impractical. * In 1979, prior to conceiving the eyeball masks for the cover of their ''Eskimo album, The Residents originally planned to have spherical, reflective silver helmets which would reflect the Arctic tundra. This idea proved too expensive to produce. See also * Eyeball masks * Mr. Skull * The Big Bubble * Randy Rose * Charles Bobuck External links and references * "The Costumes" at RZWeb Category:The Residents Category:Browse Category:Lists Category:Costumes